A unique letter written by one of the Titanic’s survivors was sold at a Henry Aldridge and Son auction in Wiltshire, UK. The price of this lot is impressive — $400,000, which is five times higher than initial expectations.
The letter, dated April 10, 1912, belonged to Colonel Archibald Gracie, a first-class passenger and author of the famous book The Truth About Titanic. Gracie cautiously assessed the new ship in his letter on the day of boarding the legendary liner: “It is a beautiful ship, but I will wait until the voyage is over before I pass judgment on it.”
The message was addressed to the colonel’s great-uncle and sent to the Waldorf Hotel in London.
Gracie helped women and children get into lifeboats on the night of the tragedy. He survived by escaping on an overturned boat and later left valuable testimony about the tragedy.